Depression in mothers and early childhood development: rural-urban disparities

Maternal mental health is essential for early childhood development but is often neglected in public policy, especially in low- and middle-income countries. This study investigates the relationship between maternal depression and early childhood developmental outcomes in Indonesia, with attention to rural-urban differences.

Using data from 36,146 children aged 36-59 months from the 2018 Indonesian Basic Health Research (RISKESDAS), maternal depression was assessed with the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, while child development was measured using the Early Child Development Index. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the association between maternal depression and child developmental delays, stratified by urban and rural residence.

The results revealed developmental delays in 10.2% of urban children and 13.1% of rural children. Children of mothers with depression had significantly higher odds of overall developmental delay (OR=1.9; 95%CI: 1.6-2.2; p<0.001). Stratified analysis showed that the odds of delay were higher in urban areas (OR=2.1; 95%CI: 1.7-2.6) than in rural areas (OR=1.7; 95%CI: 1.4-2.0).

These findings indicate that maternal depression is significantly associated with overall child development delays, with domain-specific associations observed particularly in the physical and literacy-numeracy domains, emphasizing the need for targeted mental health and child development interventions in both urban and rural settings.